In our latest podcast, Lisa Barsky Firsker, PhD, explains how the use of simple materials such as crayons, paper, colored pencils and markers can be a powerful way to communicate with a child. As she says: "Inside every quiet child there is a loud voice trying to get out."

The Bridges Out of Poverty Model by Tracy Evans

Although the United States is home to countless millionaires, the Children's Defense Fund asserts that a baby is born into poverty every 32 seconds. More than 5.6 million children are in families living at half the poverty level or less. As CASA and GAL staff members, our goal is to promote court-appointed volunteer advocacy for abused and neglected children. Our volunteers are trained to act as strong voices acting for the individual needs of these children, giving them the best possible chance at a hopeful future. We cannot ignore the impact poverty can play in weakening a family's resilience and its ability to cope with the inevitable demands and stresses of day-to-day life. This past March, the Court Appointed Juvenile Advocates program in Madison County, AL, sponsored a seminar, Bridges Out of Poverty. Its ideas and tools can be used by organizations whose daily work connects them with the lives of people who live in poverty. Through both lecture and group activity, the training uses case studies, analyses, charts and media presentations to examine the causes of poverty. Read the full article.